Boston – Tibetan activists protested against Thermo Fisher at its annual shareholders' meeting and staged political theater outside the company's headquarters to protest its sale of kits to China that steal Tibetan DNA. They also organised a mobile billboard that was seen by tens of thousands of people in Boston, USA, and also held a rally outside the company's offices in Cambridge, England.
Tibetan activists from Students for a Free Tibet (SFT), Tibetan Youth Association Europe and Free Tibet protested against Thermo Fisher's headquarters in Boston and Cambridge on May 25, 2023, protesting the company's sale of kits to China that steal Tibetan DNA and violate the human rights of Tibetans, and demanded that the company stop selling DNA kits to Chinese authorities.
After numerous protests from Tibetans and letters from leaders, MPs and Senators to the CEO of Thermo Fisher, they agreed to allow Tenzin Yangzom, a Tibetan activist from SFT, to share her thoughts online at Thermo Fisher's Annual General Meeting on May 25, 2023, but due to some technical glitches, she was unable to clearly convey her message. However, the message was communicated to Thermo Fisher in writing through Investor Relations. These shareholders raised their concerns and urged Thermo Fisher to tell them what human rights review they have conducted regarding China's use of its technology in Tibet.
On the eve of Thermo Fisher's Annual General Meeting on May 23, 2023, Tibetan activists around the world took action by sending their petition to Thermo Fisher locations around the world. The petition, signed by more than 25,000 people, urges Thermo Fisher to stop providing the Chinese government with DNA monitoring equipment used to steal the DNA of Tibetans throughout Tibet.
The Swiss Parliamentary Group for Tibet, made up of 30 members of the Swiss National Council and Council of States, sent an open letter to Marc N. Casper Chairman, President and CEO Thermo Fisher Scientific on May 23, 2023, asking the company to describe in detail the measures it is taking to ensure the ethical use of materials supplied and data collected in Tibet.
Leaders and MPs from around the world have expressed their concern at the "collection of DNA from Tibetans without their consent" and called for sanctions to be taken against companies involved in mass DNA collection in Tibet. Tibetan activists demand that Thermo Fisher stop selling DNA kits to China, and have staged protests around the world to denounce China for stealing Tibetan DNA and violating the human rights of Tibetans inside Tibet.
